November 2011
2 posts
No more big hunks of meat
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. And hopefully I’ll remember the next time I’m standing at the meat counter, filled with a mix of Midwestern nostalgia and delusion about my cooking abilities:
No more big hunks of meat!
1. I will under cook it.
2. Then I will mangle it.
3. Then I will over cook it.
4. Then it will be my least favorite thing on my plate.
Not to...
Pumpkin-fig pizza, crab mac & cheese, and pumpkin...
With the beautiful sunny warm weather we’ve had lately in San Francisco (typical for this time of year), you’d hardly know it’s autumn. But with Halloween over and Thanksgiving on its way, fall is definitely here. This has always been my favorite season, and nowadays its when I feel most nostalgic about growing up in Ohio. I miss the crunch of leaves on the streets and the...
October 2011
2 posts
Trick or treat...curry to eat!
Happy Halloween!
Cara and I stirred up a big delicious pot of squash, potato, chickpea curry. We followed this recipe, then threw in a bunch of extra spices, some spicy Korean red bean paste, soy sauce, and much more curry paste than called for…and it worked!
Morning meatballs
I’m a terrible sleeper and have been waking up in the middle of the night — and never falling back to sleep — far too frequently as of late. And even if I make it through the night, I’m almost always woken up before my alarm by my freakishly-loud upstairs neighbors, who apparently find 5:30 am to be the perfect time for a jog across their hardwood floors in heavy-bottomed...
September 2011
1 post
Time to cook some soup...and abolish the death...
It’s September! Which means it’s fall, which means it’s time for lots and lots of soup!!
Here’s me kicking off the season:
I have been so busy that I’ve hardly been cooking lately. Not only is work busy with my “real job” — raising money for the ACLU — but I’m also busy raising money for the SAFE California Campaign, which will place...
August 2011
1 post
Easy artichoke avocado awesomeness
I’ll keep this quick — as quick as it was to make this easy and delicious gourmet dish! Perfect for a quick filling snack or a small lunch or dinner.
Today my sister Cara and I went to the farmer’s market, then spent the afternoon visiting in my kitchen while I whipped up an off-the-cuff cold soba noodles dish to take for lunch this week — complete with a delicious...
July 2011
4 posts
Detox day
Last night I planned to just go out with my good friend Kelly (co-owner of the new Yapita organic baby food company) for an early dinner and a few drinks, but surprised myself and kept the night going at a cool party in the Mission with about one (or two or three) too many gin gimlets. Woke up with a pretty bad headache, though I still managed to make it to Pilates this morning and then totally...
Cleveland bars, sweltering sun, and anchovy flat...
Tyler and I just returned last night from a trip to Cleveland for my best friend Holly’s wedding. We were there for six days — six hot, sweltering, sweat-dripping days. Cleveland gets hot in the summer, but this was unusual even for Cleveland. I promised myself (and Tyler) that I’ll never complain again about how cold San Francisco is in the summer. (We’ll see how long I...
Holy hot bibim guksu!
Today Tyler and I made an awesome discovery: Woo Ri Food Market, a family-owned Korean grocery located on Fillmore between O’Farrell and Geary. I just gushed about how wonderful this place is on Yelp so won’t do that all over again here. But because of this place and its very helpful staff, I have added two new ingredients to my repertoire: gochujang, a red chili paste that’s...
Firecracker family supper
Tonight was a very special night in the Souper Freak kitchen, featuring the tofu-browning skills of renowned sous chef Cara Textoris!
Last week, my sister Cara — who left San Francisco about eight months ago to return to our Cleveland hometown — and I made the last-minute decision to fly her out for the Fourth of July holiday. We’ve been basking in the sun, hanging out with...
June 2011
13 posts
Souperfreak review: Cook! SF meal delivery service
Tonight I made ravioli “salad” inspired by 101 Cookbooks….again! It’s the third time in about that many weeks. It’s just so delicious and easy! This time I made a couple of tweaks: broccolini instead of asparagus and, for the first time, butternut squash ravioli. It’s the second time making it with ravioli from the Sunday Divisadero farmer’s market — the...
4 tags
Freeze now, eat later! →
Check out today’s post from the awesome all-things-money resource, LearnVest. It has some excellent tips on freezing summer produce — fruits, veggies, herbs — so you can enjoy it year round. (Click the title of this post if you can’t figure out how to get to the tips!)
Post-vacay dinner replay
Today Tyler and I returned from a family vacation in Sheep Ranch, California, population 32. Tyler’s dad’s friend owns the historic Pioneer Hotel and every year Tyler’s dad brings the Georgeson-Schaffer clan together for a week of relaxation — think guitar strumming, porch sitting, drink drinking, croquet playing, and lots of hanging.
And chili! On Friday night, Tyler...
Sunday Sesame Seed Insanity
I know I said that the dinner I made last week was the best ever….but I might have lied.
Tonight I wowed myself by making something so delectably gourmet that I can hardly believe it came out of my kitchen. But it did!
As proof, I just asked Tyler for a statement about tonight’s couch dining experience. He explained that his jaw was still dropped too far down on the ground to...
Souper Freak Lunch Lesson: Tuna chickpea salad
Yesterday I brought you my first Souper Freak Lunch Lesson with an idea for a healthy, inexpensive and simple-to-prepare lunch. It’s time for lesson number two — but I can’t take credit for today’s easy and fresh recipe! This inspiration comes from the Honestly Good Food blog, which I was so excited to find over the weekend. You can’t argue with the blog’s main...
Souper Freak Lunch Lesson: Easy chickpeas and mint
I’m always on the lookout for simple, healthy, transportable and inexpensive lunch ideas to pack up and take to the office. I know that those of you who work in the SF Financial District are feeling me (how easy is it to spend $15 on a basic lunch and beverage?!). And so, voila! I bring you my first “Souper Freak Lunch Lesson” with a delicious suggestion for your lunch box.
If...
Best. Dinner. Ever.
I know I’ve been blogging — relentlessly! — all day. But bear with me for one more post. This is worth it.
After a day of cooking and baking, it only seems fair that I have a nice dinner to end it all. And tonight’s dinner seriously might have been the best….AND the EASIEST….ever!
Just like everything I’ve made today, this came from my new favorite thing...
I baked!
This is big. I don’t bake. But I tried my hand at it today as part of my “whole food,” healthy home-cooking commitment. And I seem to have succeeded!
I baked two things, both from Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks blog.
First, I made whole grain bran muffins to have on hand for breakfast. They’re made with full-fat yogurt as the primary fat (just two tablespoons of...
The cooking cure
Yesterday my friend (and Tyler’s roommate) Jose contacted me with a cry for help: He’d partied just a little too hard the night before, and needed some soup, stat. Fortunately I had spent the morning looking up recipes and had just the cure.
His request was perfectly timed because I was in the midst of the realization — and decision — that I need to recommit to cooking...
Moo shu fo sho
Today I decreed that we shall eat more tortillas.
There are so many different combinations of foods to put into a tortilla. This morning? A banana and sliced strawberries with peanut butter. Tonight? Moo shu! (Scroll all the way down for all the pics!)
“Real” moo shu is usually made with pork (or some other meat) and wrapped up into an authentic Chinese homemade pancake. The Dana...
March 2011
1 post
Classic beef stew 'n shit...with The Sam Chase! →
We bought ingredients…we made beef stew….we drank wine….we done good.
4 tags
February 2011
5 posts
Peanut vegetable soup with scallion dumplings
Hey Dana! I made this soup and LOVED it. Only thing is that the dumplings could be a little more flavorful, so I’d love to know if you have ideas for that.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-04-04/food/20833867_1_tablespoons-soy-sauce-green-onions-olive-oil
- Tamara
Lazy Sunday lentils and barley
Work and rain — that’s about all my life has consisted of lately. I’m in the midst of a three-day-weekend (thank god!) and today cooking is the only activity I can bear. I decided to make a very simple, basic, comforting dish I’ve made before: honey baked lentils (though I used maple syrup, not honey). Alongside it, I baked a mixture of barley, broth, carrots, daikon, onion...
Pizza pocket "raviolis"
Last night was dinner-and-a-movie date night. On the menu? These yummy little pizza pockets from Broke Ass Gourmet — a really fun blog by home cook Gabi Moskowitz right here in San Francisco! Not only does she post fantastic, easy recipes, she tells you how much all the ingredients will cost you.
Yesterday afternoon I whipped up the homemade dough — I ended up using double the sour...
Where, oh where, has the SouperFreak gone?
Moving, working, holidaying, traveling….they’re all the reasons it’s been over a month since my last post. The truth is, I’ve made a lot of soup and other recipes without blogging about it. Some highlights?
* Not just one…..
….but two pho nights, both pho-nomenal!
* An impressive vegan dish — tofu browned in the oven, with snap peas and a delicious...
December 2010
4 posts
Goodbye Christmas ham, hello split pea soup
At last we are entering the post holiday feast season! No more decadent Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas cookies to tempt me at every turn, beckoning me to allow another bite (or, ahem, plate) with the justification that, well, “it’s the holidays!” It’s time to stop eating like a lumberjack and go back to basic healthy-eating principles and sensible portion control.
And...
Never. Again.
Once in the while, I get the idea in my head that I’d like to learn how to roast chicken. Sometimes I buy cookbooks that will teach me how to do it. Sometimes I buy a meat thermometer (that apparently lies).
Sometimes I buy a bunch of chicken parts, put it in the oven, attempt to follow the directions, and end up a) eating some of the chicken before realizing it isn’t cooked through...
Stuffed Cabbage Showdown
(At first this post read stuffed peppers — I meant to say cabbage! Big diff!)
Tonight I was going to make soup, but I decided I’m not allowed to move on to my next recipe until I tell you about the amazing stuffed cabbage Tyler and I made the other night.
Well, some were stuffed. We set up an experiment: Half the recipe we carefully rolled inside of gently steamed red cabbage leaves....
New setting, old favorite
Today marked the first day I’ve cooked in a month. November was so busy — with work, traveling for Thanksgiving, and moving to a new apartment — that I decided it would be dinners out and canned soups for the month. A few too many dollars spent….a few too many pounds gained….how happy I am to be back in the kitchen!
And a new kitchen! Over the last few days,...
October 2010
6 posts
Mind-blowing meat loaf
Friends, I’ve decided there are simply too many delicious things in this world to live on soup alone. I’ve recently bought a new collection of cookbooks from Cooks Illustrated and will be integrating some more variety into my repertoire. (If you don’t know about Cooks Illustrated, please school yourself. Beyond meticulously tested, mouth watering recipes, they also test and rate...
Pho-Nomenal! Plus Wild Boar Potstickers!
I have a dream that gets to play itself out every so often….a rainy cold day….a sports game on tv….plenty of beer…..and a room full of people to feed!
My dream came true on Sunday when the Giants played the Phillies. I invited a bunch of baseball fans over and told them to bring the beer!
That left me to focus on a fabulous Asian inspired menu:
* Crispy simple cookies...
Belated Moroccan Vegetarian Stew
My dear devoted readers, I’d like to apologize for making a soup the other day and failing to let you know. But don’t worry, there are still plenty of leftovers in my fridge, so I’m technically still allowed to write about it, per the rules I’ve made up.
I’ve already mentioned my favorite new recipe website, Taste of Home. I’ve now made my first soup from the...
Thank god for potstickers
Sometimes, even your faithful Souper Freak can not bring herself to make a fully homemade meal.
Tonight is one of those nights…a long day, arriving home at 8:30 pm. It’s one of those nights I take a moment to thank god for potstickers. Healthy, delicious, and easy to mix with vegetables. Tonight, I sauteed fresh dandelion leaves with a bit of garlic, a chopped up roasted pepper,...
Squash season has arrived!!
Autumn is my favorite time for cooking! More than anything, I love winter squash. Growing up, acorn squash put under the broiler with maple syrup was a family favorite. I get a special feeling just thinking about fall squash dishes!
I’m heading off to an event for the day, so I tackled this Harvest Squash Medley first thing this morning. I got the recipe off of what is becoming my favorite...
September 2010
7 posts
Cider-Glazed Porkchops and Maple-Orange Mashed... →
Ok, I know this isn’t soup……but I can’t WAIT to make this!!!
Magic Mushrooms
I think this really could be the best soup I’ve made so far. (Although the cock-a-leekie is a serious contender.) Caramelized Onion and Portobello Mushroom. Oh. Yeah.
Slow cooked caramelized onions with a touch of balsamic vinegar. Mushrooms cooked in butter, brandy and garlic. Fresh thyme for some herbal character. A combination of beef broth and homemade vegetable stock and white wine....
Announcing the first Souper Freak cooking lesson! →
Click for details!
Double Dipping!
Today was a very exciting day in the Souper Freak kitchen.
1. I not only made one soup (fresh tomato basil soup) but two (California-style Italian wedding soup with handmade meatballs and lemon zest).
2. I had several remarks of “Oh my god, this is the best soup ever.”
3. I had a souper emergency when my blender went berserk, and my friends Sophia Teper and Omied Far were there to...
This is why my roommate thinks I'm crazy
While you were sleeping….I rented a car, shopped at Safeway, and made a pork roast.
Just kidding! I also made a loaf of raspberry bread and a pot of slow-cooked barley. And sat on a conference call.
I used to wonder if I was a morning person or a night person…..what a stupid question.
My mistake was reading recipes when I woke up two-and-a-half hours early at 4am. Suddenly, all I...
Sort of Soup
Well kiddies, you’ve been awfully patient. It’s been so long since I posted. I imagine the ten of you haven’t known what to do with yourselves.
I’ve had a good excuse: I was at Burning Man — probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done. And one of my soups even made a BM debut. Tyler and I ate leftover corn chowder, cold, right out of the glass jar I froze it in....
August 2010
10 posts
Burning Man Hiatus!
Dear readers (all dozen of you), for those of you who depend on my blog to get through another day, I am writing to inform you I will be MIA for the next week. I’m off to Black Rock City, Nevada for my first Burning Man experience!
Perhaps you’ll be consoled knowing that the soup is coming with me! I’ve been freezing my latest batches and will be packing the jars in the cooler....
Guest Souper Blogger Brian Boone!
What an AMAZING day in San Francisco! We’ve been suffering through a cold, foggy, dreary summer. The last couple of days we’ve finally seen sunshine and heat. The one downside is that the last thing I want to make is soup!
Tonight a bunch of friends got together at Tyler’s house for a picnic table dinner outside. My friend Brian made an incredible pork shoulder stew — he...
"Skimpy Outfits" Cabbage Soup
My seventh soup: Cabbage Soup
Two weeks or so from now, I’ll be in the middle of a crazy desert, surrounded by crazy people doing crazy things, probably wearing something pretty crazy — and skimpy. It’s hot there!
Cabbage soup is a classic dieter’s soup. In all honesty, my upcoming (first!) time at Burning Man isn’t really why I picked this soup. Mostly, I picked it...
Steamy hot bliss....
Remember back to when I made that chicken Cock-A-Leekie soup? «Sigh» Me too. Well I just experienced a moment of pure bliss and jubilation when I remembered I had stashed a serving in my work freezer! Three cheers for long-term meal planning! I had brought some of the (rather lame) crock pot veggie soup I made the other day. Pssht! Bye bye loser soup! Helloooooo Cock-A-Leekie!
(You like...